Laser Systems for Orbital Debris Removal

Orbital debris in low Earth orbit (LEO) are now sufficiently dense that the use of LEO space is threatened by runaway collisional cascading. A problem predicted more than thirty years ago, the threat from debris larger than about 1cm demands serious attention. A promising proposed solution uses a high power pulsed laser system on the Earth to make plasma jets on the objects, slowing them slightly, and causing them to re-enter and burn up in the atmosphere. In this paper, we reassess this approach in light of recent advances in low-cost, light-weight segmented design for large mirrors, calculations of laser-induced orbit changes and in design of repetitive, multi-kilojoule lasers, that build on inertial fusion research. These advances now suggest that laser orbital debris removal (LODR) is the most costeffective way to mitigate the debris problem. No other solutions have been proposed that address the whole problem of large and small debris. A LODR system will have multiple uses beyond debris removal. International cooperation will be essential for building and operating such a system.

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“…(23) and, using that, Δr p and Δr a from Eqs. (24) and (25). This procedure is developed from first principles, and is free of approximations.…”

Section: And With Thementioning

confidence: 96%

“…This high-repetition rate (10-20 Hz), high-efficiency (~12-18%) diode-pumped solid-state system will produce -10 kJ in a single beam at 1053 nm. [22].The laser output has a linear polarization and it is easy to combine two beams in 20 KJ per pulse laser system [24].…”

Section: Advances In Lasers and Large Opticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Removing orbital debris with pulsed lasers

Phipps

Baker

Libby

et al. 2012

AIP Conference Proceedings

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“…It is known that CW lasers cannot reach the required intensity on the debris target [1] [18]. Furthermore, short pulses can reduce the cost [19]- [20]. Recently, our group investigated the propagation of pulsed laser beams through the inhomogeneous atmosphere, but only considered the Gaussian profile in both the space and time domains [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beam Quality of Annular Pulsed Laser Beams Propagating Through the Nonlinear and Dispersive Atmosphere

Deng

et al. 2021

IEEE Photonics J.

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The Kerr self-focusing and group-velocity dispersion (GVD) effects play important roles when a high-power pulsed laser beam propagates from the ground through the nonlinear and dispersive atmosphere to space orbits. For an annular pulsed laser beam, the Kerr self-focusing and GVD effects on the beam quality on the target is studied in this paper. Due to self-focusing, the maximum intensity Imax on the target arrives when the beam power P=Popt (Popt is called the optimal beam power), and the intensity on the target will decrease as the beam power P increases further when P > Popt. The Popt of nanosecond and picosecond pulsed beams is lower than that of femtosecond pulsed beams, while the maximum intensity Imax on the target of nanosecond and picosecond pulsed beams is higher than that of femtosecond pulsed beams. The Popt and Imax of annular pulsed beams are higher than those of Gaussian pulsed beams. In addition, the B integral and the Strehl ratio are also adopted to describe the beam quality on the target. On the other hand, because of the interplay of Kerr self-focusing and GVD effects, the temporal pulse splitting and self-healing may take place on propagation, and the temporal pulse splitting may take place more than once. The results obtained in this paper are useful for laser ablation propulsion's applications in space.

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“…In recent decades, the active debris removal (ADR) has been come out and regarded as an effective measure for this terrible situation. ere are some methods to realize ADR mission: space robot arm catching [4], space rope net catching [5], increasing the resistance [6], and the method of laser cleaning [7]. e ADR requires that one service satellite rendezvouses with different on-orbit debris and remove them [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mission Planning of GEO Active Debris Removal Based on Revolver Mode

Zhao

Cao

Chen

et al. 2021

Mathematical Problems in Engineering

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The mission planning of active debris removal (ADR) of revolver mode on geosynchronous orbit (GEO) is studied in this paper. It is assumed that there are one service satellite, one space depot, and some pieces of space debris in the ADR mission. The service satellite firstly rendezvouses with the debris and then releases the thruster deorbit kits (TDKs), which are carried with the satellite, to push the debris to the graveyard orbit. Space depot will provide replenishment for the service satellite. The purpose of this mission planning is to optimize the ADR sequence of the service satellite, which represents the chronological order, in which the service satellite approaches different debris. In this paper, the mission cost will be stated firstly, and then a mathematical optimization model is proposed. ADR sequence and orbital transfer time are used as designed variables, whereas the fuel consumption in the whole mission is regarded as objective for optimizing, and a specific number of TDKs is also a new constraint. Then, two-level optimization is proposed to solve the mission planning problem, which is low-level for finding optimal transfer orbit using accelerated particle swarm optimization (APSO) algorithm and up-level for finding best mission sequence using immune genetic (IGA) algorithm. Numerical simulations are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model and the optimization method. Results show that TDK number influences the fuel consumption through impacting the replenishing frequency and TDK redundancy. To reduce fuel consumption, the TDK number should be optimized and designed with suitable replenishing frequency and minimum TDK redundancy.

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Laser Systems for Orbital Debris Removal

Cited by 12 publications

References 6 publications

Removing orbital debris with pulsed lasers

Removing orbital debris with pulsed lasers

Beam Quality of Annular Pulsed Laser Beams Propagating Through the Nonlinear and Dispersive Atmosphere

Mission Planning of GEO Active Debris Removal Based on Revolver Mode

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